32

The next time Chase opened his eyes, an ashen cloud cover had overtaken the blue sky. Mel leaned against his shoulder, her breathing heavy, her computer pushed to the side on the seat. Switchblade drove on in silence. A few snowflakes touched down on the windshield and then melted away. Seemed too early in the season for snow.

“Switchblade, you doing all right up there?”

“Aside from your obnoxious snoring, I’m doing just fine. We’ll be home in ten minutes.”

“Great.” He stretched and yawned. Mel nuzzled closer but didn’t wake. Chase studied the view out the window to his side. Along the bleak horizon where gray hills met the gray sky, a single drone flew in the same direction the car traveled. At the same speed, it seemed. It appeared to be about a mile away and it flew close to the ground. Chase stretched as far as he could with Mel resting on his shoulder and looked out the back windshield. Not a car in sight.

“Hey, do you see that drone?” he whispered.

“Been out there for the last hour. Figured it was headed back to the plant. Maybe somebody got more drones than they needed, considering they never ordered any drones to begin with.”

“Slow to a stop. Let’s see what it does.”

Switchblade checked the side mirrors. Then the car dropped its speed. In seconds they were sitting still in the middle of the country road.

And the drone stopped too. It hovered for a moment before it repositioned and headed toward them.

“Oh, crap. What do I do now?” Switchblade yelled.

Mel sat up and grabbed Chase’s arm. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve got company.” Chase pointed out the window.

Mel grabbed her computer. “Switchblade, drive.”

“Where to? It’s coming after us.” The car lurched forward and then sped up.

The small computer in Mel’s lap surged to life, and she pulled up a map of the local terrain. “There’s a road just over the next hill. It turns off to the right and ends up at the entrance to some caverns. We’ll ditch the car and hide in a cave.”

Switchblade increased his speed. “And get trapped? This thing is probably already calling for backup. We’ll never get away if we end up cornered.”

Chase looked at the screen on the laptop. It still registered his location. “Can’t you get that thing to stop tracking me?”

“No. I tried,” Mel said. “I can’t throw them off, Chase. You were the only who could pull stunts with the Feds.”

Chase put his hands on the sides of his head and let out a groan. “I can’t believe this.” He slammed his fist into the backside of the driver’s seat.

“You calm yourself down, Charlie. I know you’re missing Sparky. Right now we gotta do what we can to get out of this.” Switchblade veered to the right when he reached the hilltop. “You think we should wait it out in a cave?”

“Why not?” Chase threw his hands up. Then he had an idea. A human thought and nothing more. “Yeah, take the road to the cave.”

Switchblade made the turn too sharp and the car’s left wheels came off the ground and then dropped back with a thud. The drone was still a good half mile away, which meant they had about half a minute.

The old boarded-up entrance to what used to be a roadside attraction for spelunkers fell into view.

“Stop here,” Chase said. The red dot still flashed on the computer screen. “Melody, leave the laptop in the car.” Chase flung his door open. “Come on—get out! Run!”

Mel and Switchblade followed his example and jumped from the car. They all ran for the cave. The entrance was overgrown with vines. Boards were nailed across to keep out trespassers. It took Switchblade’s strength, not Chase’s, to pry the wooden planks loose.

Chase grabbed Mel’s hand and pulled her into the darkness. Switchblade followed. They ran maybe forty yards before they heard the explosion. Then silence. Waiting for the sound of more forces coming for them, their backs against a cold rock wall, they didn’t move. Light from what must have been the burning car crept into the cave and lit their faces.

The fire died down at last and Chase eased to the front of the cave.

“Where are you going?” Mel asked. “Don’t go out there.”

“I’ll just take a look.”

“Not without us, Charlie.” Switchblade ran after him. Mel caught up and took Chase’s hand. They stood together at the mouth of the cave. Nothing. No sounds of drones or vehicles on the ground. Chase perused the parking area. The car was still there. Undamaged. The drone, what was left of it, lay in a smoldering heap. He stumbled to the car and opened the door. From the back seat the computer flashed a number. A code.

32-7.